Got Your Back
by rewob17
Summary: The governor appoints Five-0 to solve a petty pickpocketing ring, but it turns out to be more difficult than they imagined.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Hawaii Five-0. No copywrite infringement is intended. This is just a little harmless fun.

A/N: This story is completely written so I should be able to post regularly - real life permitting, as always. My never ending thanks to Fifilla for helping me through this story and the many conversations to help me figure out a plot when all I started with was one little picture in my head. Thanks also to Wenwalke for reading through and proofreading the story. Any mistakes that remain are completely my own.

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Five-0 was stuck. Stymied. Mired in the mud. Getting nowhere fast. That also meant they were frustrated, discouraged, irritable and... Danny mentally tried to come up with more words and couldn't. That's how frustrated he was. He held back a sigh as he slouched on the couch in Steve's office. He thought Kono, sitting next to him, might punch him if he sighed again. He could tell she was wound tighter than a drum and it wouldn't take much to make her snap. They were all approaching that point.

Steve ran a hand through his hair, causing several strands to stick straight up. If the situation were less serious, Danny probably would have called him Buckwheat. As it was, no one even noticed. Steve leaned back in his chair and regarded the team assembled in his office. They'd been brainstorming possible solutions to the recent rise in petty crimes targeting tourists which is why the governor had tagged them in an effort to stop the rising crime rate and declining tourist spending. "C'mon, guys, don't we have any ideas?"

Chin, seated on the other side of Kono, shrugged, "We're dealing with pickpockets and petty criminals. They're obviously quick and blend into the crowd so they're not only hard to catch, but we have to be able to identify them first."

"Yeah," Kono chimed in. "HPD has only caught a couple of them, and they're all juveniles."

"Not to mention," Danny pointed out, "that we have no idea how many we're dealing with and if any of those arrested were part of this pickpocket ring... if there is even a pickpocket ring. For all we know they're all unrelated cases."

"Do you really believe that?" Catherine questioned the detective, leaning forward in her chair. "That all these incidents of pickpockets targeting tourists are unrelated?"

Danny straightened up in his seat and waved his hand as if dismissing that notion, "No, I don't. I think they're all related and there's a mastermind, a Fagin if you will, that we need to find to shut this thing down and make the Governor happy that tourists are still flocking here to spend their money."

"Fagin?" Steve's eyebrow raised and his lips quirked in amusement.

"Yes, you illiterate dolt," Danny grinned. "_Oliver Twist_ by Charles Dickens. Fagin taught the artful Dodger and the other kids how to pickpocket among other things. He..."

Steve raised a hand to interrupt his partner, "I've actually read the book, Danny."

"You have?" Danny sounded surprised. "I'm impressed. Then you'll know that..."

"I hate to interrupt your literary discussion," Chin jumped in, trying to keep the two from going off on too long of a tangent, "but can we get back to the matter at hand? If this is an organized group of pickpockets, then we need to figure out who their Fagin is."

Danny returned Chin's nod when the older man used the apt reference, "Do you have something in mind?"

Chin smiled at Danny before directing his gaze to Catherine, "I just might."

Catherine smiled hesitantly, "What?"

"Yeah, what?" Danny joined in, narrowing his eyes suspiciously, as Chin returned his gaze to him and the smile widened.

"I like the way you think, cuz!" Kono nodded and smiled.

"Wait, wait, wait," Danny threw his hands up, "I don't think I like the way you think, and I'm not even sure what you're thinking."

"You said it yourself," Chin told him. "The pickpockets are targeting tourists."

Steve nodded, smile growing, "Yes, Chin. You might be onto something."

"No, no, no!" Danny protested.

"We can make you look like a tourist," Kono smiled at him.

"Or both of you..." Chin looked at Catherine.

"Wait, what?!" Catherine looked askance at the cousins.

"Sure," Steve was starting to enjoy the moment, and the thought that they might have a plan of action to soothe the governor for the moment. "You two could pretend to be tourists here on your honeymoon or something. You can hit some touristy spots and shops, and flash some cash to attract the pickpockets. You know the drill."

Danny pointed at his friend, "You're a Haole too, you know. Besides, you and Catherine are already a couple so I think it ought to be you two masquerading as honeymooners."

Steve nodded as if considering Danny's argument, "Well... no."

"That's it? Just no?!"

"Well," Steve clapped his hands and stood up from behind his desk, "That's settled."

"C'mon, brah," Kono nudged Danny's shoulder, "It'll be fun."

Danny glared at his smug partner a moment before he had a thought and allowed himself to smile, "You know, this might be fun after all." He stood and held out a hand to Catherine who hadn't had the chance to voice her protest at the sudden undercover assignment. "C'mon, my dear, let's go plan our itinerary."

Steve's smug smile turned to a frown as he watched Catherine take Danny's hand and be pulled close to his side, hand on her hip. He wondered what he had done when she giggled and threw him a backwards glance over her shoulder after Danny whispered something in her ear. He didn't think he liked his partner's flashy smile as he left the office with his arm around Catherine.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews, favorites and follows. I appreciate them all and hope to respond at least once to everyone who leaves a review.

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Danny tried not to look around suspiciously at people as he walked hand in hand with Catherine down the streets of Honolulu. She had already nudged him a time or two to remind him that they were supposed to look like tourists on vacation. He spotted a store two shops down and grinned at Catherine, "Look, dear, I think we should go there."

"Oh, honey, do you think we should?" She gave him a playful look, "It looks very expensive."

"Only the best for my new bride," he beamed. "I'm not worried about cost. My brother, Steve, gave me some money and told me to spoil you."

"_Not cool, brother_," Steve's voice sounded in Danny's ear.

Danny grinned at the emphasized, and highly sarcastic, use of brother as he adjusted the ear piece and entered the jewelry shop, ushering Catherine in with a bow.

After several minutes of listening to Danny and Catherine oohing and aahing in the store, Steve couldn't stand it any longer, _"Okay, guys, don't you think you've been in there long enough? You're supposed to be out where the pickpockets are, not spending all the money we have in our budget for undercover ops. And if you do buy something, it better be something you can return."_

"I don't see anything here that's perfect for you, darling," Danny smiled at her as they both heard Steve in their ear pieces. "Let's go over to the beach and walk around a little while."

"Oooh, a sunset walk on the beach," Catherine fluttered her eyelashes at Danny as they exited the store.

Danny and Catherine strolled along Ala Moana Beach Park until well after sunset, hoping for some action once most of the tourists had gone elsewhere. For once, the usual high-crime area after dark seemed quiet. Danny knew he shouldn't be disappointed with their negative results on the first day, but he had hoped to be done with this undercover assignment quickly.

"_Okay, let's call it a day_," Steve sounded defeated, his thoughts of a quick, easy resolution to their problem evaporating. "_We'll try again tomorrow. Let's start at the Hilton Hawaiian Village as planned."_

Danny and Catherine spent the next day wandering Hilton Hawaiian Village and other prime tourist locations. Danny had deliberately worn shorts with a loose back pocket so his wallet would be a tempting target for a would-be pickpocket. Catherine had a large flowery bag slung loosely over her shoulder, top gaping open for the entire world to see her wallet snuggled next to a shiny iPad Mini. They still had no results.

Day number three of the undercover sting for the pickpockets found the team a little disappointed and a lot frustrated. Danny and Catherine were hard pressed to keep their fake tourist smiles in place as they wandered arm in arm through the different booths at the International Marketplace. Gone were their teasing comments to Steve, who was always listening and coy glances to each other as they played up their part as newlywed tourists.

"_Alright, guys,"_ Steve sounded defeated, "_let's make one more pass through the market before we give up on it. I've got a meeting with the governor in the morning, and I'd really like to nail someone before we give it up. Maybe we'll get lucky this time through."_

"Maybe if we split up we'll have a better shot," Danny noted. "Can't hurt to try, right?"

Catherine nodded as Steve agreed, too. She smiled sweetly at Danny, keeping up their cover, "Dear, I'm going to go over there and look at scarves. Why don't we meet back at the car in half an hour?"

Danny wandered aimlessly towards a booth opposite of where Catherine was headed. He spent a few minutes looking at some knick knacks geared towards tourists before strolling over to a shop with leather goods. He absentmindedly picked up a leather wallet, pulling his own wallet out to compare the two. He fervently wished he'd get a nibble from one of the pickpockets. He was beginning to think they'd all vanished after all the opportunities he and Catherine had given them. He set his wallet down on the little ledge as his phone began to ring.

"_Hey, Danno_," Steve's voice greeted him over the phone and over his ear piece at the same time. "_Thought I'd give you a little distraction in case one of our pickpockets is watching and would like your wallet that you so carelessly set down there."_

"We could only hope," Danny answered, turning himself away from his wallet to provide a more tempting target. His gaze wandered and he noticed four young teens who seemed to look away a little too quickly as he looked in their direction. "I'm ready to be done with this."

"_Me, too, buddy,"_ Steve agreed. "_Hey, it looks like you've got someone moving in your direction_."

"Yeah?" Danny sounded hopeful. "Thanks."

"_You know I've got your back_," Steve chuckled. "_Maybe I'll have a good report for the governor after all... ahhh, he kept going. I guess he's not a pickpocket after all."_

Danny picked up his wallet and slowly turned, phone still pressed to his ear as he started to walk away. "We'll see."

Steve watched Danny from his vantage point on a nearby balcony as his partner slowly walked away, wallet dangling from his fingers. He was about to say something when gunshots and screams filled the air. The shots echoed in his ears, both from the phone and his earpiece. His last sight of Danny, before the panicking crowd obscured his view, was of Danny's wallet falling to the ground followed by Danny himself landing face down, cell phone skittering away across the pavement as he landed and didn't move.

Steve was on the move instantly, gun in hand, as he raced down the stairs. He could still hear sporadic gunshots, but the screaming had faded as the crowd quickly dispersed and disappeared to a safe distance. He pressed his left hand to his ear, "Danny? Danny, can you hear me?" He made it down a few more steps, heart thumping more from his partner's lack of a response than the physical exertion, "Does anyone know what the hell just happened?"

"Danny's down, boss," Kono sounded frantic. "He went down right away and hasn't moved. I can't get to him."

"I lost sight of him," Chin chimed in. He'd been assigned to the far side of the Market and was now impeded by the crush of tourists and panicked shoppers pushing him back and away from Danny.

"Catherine, you okay?" Steve shouted, nearing the bottom of the staircase.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," Catherine assured them all, sounding breathless. "I can't get to him either. Whoever it is, they're taking potshots at him."

Steve hit the exit door full tilt and crashed through the door into the lobby of the building, scattering scared people in his wake. At the sight of his gun, there were more screams and people started to panic again. He holstered the gun and flashed his badge to try to get through, "Five-0, let me through! Five-0!" He finally slowed as he made it to the glass entrance door. He flinched aside as a bullet tore through the window on his right, sending shards of glass into the lobby and causing people to scramble farther away again. Steve pointed at the nearest employee, "Get them back! A back room with no windows is preferable, but just get them back from here. Don't come out until you hear the all clear. You got it?"

The employee swallowed nervously and then ushered the crowd around a corner and out of Steve's sight.

Steve cautiously looked around, gun in hand again, and edged out the door, taking cover behind a perfume kiosk. The overwhelming smell of perfume assaulted his nose as he noticed half of the inventory was broken and leaking everywhere, including onto his shirt sleeve as he leaned against the kiosk. If he would have taken the time to look, he would have noticed several bullet holes riddling the little wooden structure, but that was not what Steve was focusing on right now. Leaning around the kiosk, he could just make out his partner's still form thirty feet away with little to no cover. Steve flinched as another shot sounded sending up a puff of dust two inches from Danny's outstretched left hand.

"They're still taking shots at him!" Kono hissed.

"Yeah, I've got a visual," Steve ground out through clenched teeth as his eyes furiously roamed the area looking for a solution. "How many shooters? Can we tell?"

"I count at least three," Catherine told him. "I think there's one over there by the shaved ice stand, one by the basket kiosk and the other is somewhere across the way maybe by the cafe."

Steve growled as another shot rang out and he saw Danny's body jerk and a new dark stain appeared on his left shoulder, soaking through the borrowed light blue Hawaiian shirt. "I'm gonna get him outta there."

"You don't have your vest on." Catherine pointed out. "And there are at least three shooters out there!"

"I can't leave him out there!" Steve practically pleaded.

"Of course not," Catherine agreed. "But we should have some sort of a plan before you just go running out there."

Steve almost smiled, as he had been tensing to do just that when she protested. "What do you have in mind?"

"I think I can make it over to the shooter by the basket kiosk," Catherine explained. "Chin, you're probably closest to the cafe and Kono, you aren't too far from the shaved ice, are you?"

"No," Kono agreed. "If I move to the other side of where I am, I'd have a clear line of sight on the shaved ice stand, and I do think that's where one is hiding."

"Catherine, you aren't even armed, are you?" Steve protested.

Catherine recalled the conversation with Danny just the day before. She'd wanted to put her clutch piece in her oversized shoulder bag, but Danny had been adamant that she not. He had convinced her by pointing out that they were baiting pickpockets and they couldn't take the chance of them succeeding in grabbing her purse and winding up with her weapon. "No, but I'm fairly sure I can sneak up on him."

"Fairly sure?" it was Chin who questioned the safety of the plan with two little words.

"Steve, do you have your knife?" Catherine wondered.

"Yeah, but..."

"Do you see where I am?" Catherine carefully waved a scarf in his direction.

"Yeah," Steve could see the scarf, but not Catherine. "But what..."

"Just give me the knife and trust me," Catherine told him. "You know I can handle it."

Steve hesitated until another shot plucked at Danny's sleeve. He hastily took out his knife, aimed carefully and quickly threw it towards Catherine, watching it embed itself in the side of the wooden kiosk exactly where he'd aimed. The shooters remained silent which he took to mean they hadn't seen his throw. He saw Catherine quickly reach up and retrieve the knife. "Okay, let's do this. I'm gonna get Danny and get behind that retaining wall behind him." He eyed the two foot wall which sat a good fifteen feet beyond his partner. It was still a lot of ground to cover when he would be unable to carry his presumably unconscious partner and use his weapon at the same time. In effect, they'd both be targets, but at least they'd be moving, which was better than the situation his friend was in now. He'd have to trust the other members of his team to have his back. He didn't even think twice about it; it was the only chance his partner had. "Everyone ready?"

"Ready," Kono and Chin chorused.

"Do it," Catherine chimed in.

Steve holstered his weapon, leaving it unfastened in case he needed it quickly and had the chance to use it. He said, "Now!" just as he started his sprint for his partner, dodging and weaving around trash cans, kiosks and other obstacles in his path. He kept his focus on Danny as the shots resumed, more numerous than a moment before. And though he didn't think his partner could hear him, he couldn't help but reassure him, "Hang on buddy, I'm on my way."

Danny started to regain awareness and had to suppress a moan as pain flared in his side, shoulder and legs. It took him a moment to focus on the voices coming through his earpiece. He heard something about shaved ice around the blood roaring in his ears and had the brief thought that he was dreaming when he felt a bullet whiz by his arm, snagging the sleeve of the shirt he'd borrowed from Chin. He opened his eyes and had to blink away the gray edging in around his vision as he heard his partner's go command in his ear. He couldn't get his legs to cooperate and flinched as the shots resumed with more ferocity. He started to push himself up when he felt a white-hot pain sear across his upper back and shoulders.

Danny fought sudden vertigo as he was unceremoniously slung over his partner's shoulder before he had fully comprehended he was there. He tensed slightly, blood rushing to his head as he hung head down over Steve's shoulder, but he was much too tired to resist and there wasn't anyone he trusted more than his partner to get him to safety. He fought off the blackness encroaching on his vision and found himself focused on his partner's unlatched holster as his right hand bumped it when his friend pushed himself to his feet. He felt Steve grasp his left arm and he returned the gesture to let his friend know he was okay.

They made it three steps when movement to the side and behind them caught Danny's eye. With reflexes born out of years of practice, Danny grabbed Steve's gun from the holster, and before the young would-be shooter could pull the trigger of the gun he was shakily aiming at them, Danny fired. He grimaced as his shot hit home and Danny watched as the reddish blonde teenager, who couldn't be more than 15, was thrown back and fell behind the garbage can he'd been hiding behind. Danny's arm dropped and his last thought before the blackness finally claimed him was, "Oh, my God, I've killed Oliver Twist."


	3. Chapter 3

As Steve made his mad dash to rescue his partner, he heard two more shots from Kono's position and a shout from Chin. Even as he rushed towards his fallen partner, his hearing seemed to focus in on the team around him though his eyes never left Danny. He heard a sudden yelp from Catherine's direction and knew that her aim with the knife was just as good as ever and probably even better than his. No more shots followed so he hoped they were correct in assuming three shooters.

Steve skidded to stop at Danny's side and dropped to a knee. He was relieved to see Danny's eyes open. He reached for Danny's arms, "C'mon, Danno, time to get out of here." He hoisted his partner and draped him across his shoulders as he'd done many times before to wounded comrades on the battlefield. Danny's legs dangled over his left shoulder while his head hung over his right shoulder. Steve held onto his left leg and left arm to hold him in place. He felt Danny tense at what must seem like a precarious position to the detective and then relax as he clasped Steve's arm in return, holding on with all his might.

Steve pushed himself up, securing Danny's position across the back of his neck and shoulders, and started to move towards their nearest cover of the retaining wall. He was so focused on the wall that he missed the danger off to the side. His first clue that something was wrong was Danny's sudden movement as he grabbed the gun from Steve's holster and fired. Steve's pace never faltered, trusting that his partner, injured though he was, had taken care of the threat. He focused on the retaining wall and, without hesitation, launched himself over it and quickly fell to his knees to carefully lower Danny to the ground. He gently took his gun from Danny's fingers and peered over the wall to check for any remaining threats. Seeing none, he lowered the gun and turned his attention back to his friend.

Steve sucked in a breath as he got his first good look at his partner. The white t-shirt Danny wore under the Hawaiian shirt was now soaked with blood, and glancing down, Steve could see at least one bullet wound on Danny's left leg and a graze running almost the entire length of his right leg from his calf to somewhere under the khaki knee length shorts he wore. He tried to lift up Danny's t-shirt to check the damage but the blood-soaked shirt stubbornly clung to Danny's chest, and Steve didn't want to cause more damage by just yanking it up.

"Steve," Chin's voice sounded in his ear, startling him. "You guys okay? We've got the suspects rounded up."

"Chin, I need the first aid kit from my truck," Steve told him. "I need it now, and we've gotta get medics here. Danny's bad."

Chin ran for Steve's truck without further prompting. He quickly tapped in the keyless entry code that the whole team knew in case of such an emergency and quickly grabbed the kit, not even taking the time to slam the truck door shut. Steve's tone of voice had sent a chill up his spine.

Kono and Catherine exchanged worried glances as Steve relayed the instructions to Chin while they finished securing their four suspects. One suspect held his bleeding right arm and glared at Catherine who ignored him as she wiped off Steve's knife. The reddish blonde that Danny had shot lay curled on the ground, clutching his stomach and moaning in pain. One suspect was bleeding slowly from the arm while the final suspect, the only one of the bunch uninjured, sat cross-legged staring intently at the ground, refusing to look at either his companions or the two women of Five-0. Six handguns and four switchblades lay nearby in a pile. Kono and Catherine watched as Chin raced back and easily vaulted over the wall where he was lost to sight as he knelt to help Steve.

Steve glanced over at Chin as he quickly opened up the first aid kit, "There should be scissors in there. I need to cut this shirt off to see how bad it is."

Chin nodded and quickly handed him the scissors, moving closer to help. At Steve's nod, he gently rolled Danny onto his side where Steve cut up the back of the shirt as well, essentially leaving the ruined shirts hanging on by just the sleeves which Steve was quick to pull off and discard. Chin continued to hold Danny in place with one hand while he reached into the kit with the other. He quickly pulled out a blanket sealed in plastic and ripped it open with his teeth. He shook it out to lay it gently under his friend's back to keep the exposed wounds off the ground. He hissed as he got a good look at Danny's back, "There are three entrance wounds back here, brah."

"There's only one exit wound," Steve noted, tamping down on his rage so he could tend to his partner. There would be time to face the suspects later; right now the only thing that mattered was helping Danny.

"Oh, my God," Kono's shocked voice startled them. She quickly knelt next to Chin and started grabbing bandages from the first aid kit.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, briefly glancing over and nodding at her as she handed him a bandage. "Where's EMS?"

Kono grimaced, "Two HPD officers just got here. Catherine's filling them in and handing over the suspects. They're all just kids."

"Kids or not," Steve snarled. "They did this!" he pointed in outrage at his bloodied and broken partner. "I want them held until I can interrogate them. I want to know why they did this. What about EMS?"

"They've been delayed," Kono shook her head. "There's a big pile up on the Pali and another one downtown so most of the rigs are tied up. Catherine called dispatch to make sure they knew there was an officer down. She told them to send a helicopter, but they're all out, too."

"Sorry, Steve," Catherine told him, hearing the end of the conversation as she jumped over the wall and quickly joined the huddle around Danny. "I tried. I did."

"I know," Steve mumbled, frantically wrapping bandages around Danny's wounds and watching them almost instantly turn red.

The four continued to work in silence until there was nothing more they could do for their friend and nothing left to be said. Steve knelt by Danny's head alternating between checking his pulse and desperately looking around in hopes that an ambulance would miraculously appear. Chin, opposite of Steve, had one hand on Danny's shoulder and the other on Kono's knee as she knelt next to him, biting her lip in worry. Catherine briefly left the group to raid one of the cruisers for a blanket to spread over Danny whose skin was already feeling chilled.

The Five-0 team focused all their attention on Danny, ignoring the growing crowd of HPD officers who were flocking to the site in response to the shots fired and officer down calls. A brief scuffle off to the side tore their attention away from Danny for a moment while they watched Officer Robertson exchange heated words with a camera-wielding man. Robertson sent the man on his way and then hesitantly approached the small group. Steve looked up at him, face tight with worry, "What's going on, Robertson?"

Robertson nodded his head in the direction of the man, now being escorted away by two HPD officers, "He was taking pictures from behind that tree. I don't know how long he was there, sorry."

"Reporter?" Catherine questioned.

"He said he was a PI," Robertson shrugged, and continued as Steve opened his mouth to say something. "Don't worry. I advised him that selling the pictures to the media in any way would not be advisable as they may upset the detective's young daughter."

"Like that's going to stop him," Steve ground out.

"True," Robertson agreed and then held up an object for all to see, "and that's why I took his memory card. I told him it could contain evidence needed for the investigation."

"It could be helpful," Chin agreed. "Depending on how long he was around today. Maybe he caught one of the shooters in the act."

"I'll check it out later," Kono held out her hand for the memory card and tucked it safely into her pocket."

"I'll go check on the ETA for EMS," Robertson nodded at them, giving the team the space they needed while still feeling useful.

Steve turned his attention back to Danny and noticed his eyes moving behind closed eyelids, "C'mon, buddy, open your eyes. You can do it. We're all right here."

It took effort, but after a few tries Danny was able to open his eyes and look around at the concerned faces circling him, "All of you..." he whispered, "have aneurism face... must be bad."

Steve smiled, but before he could respond, Danny started to cough and choke as blood appeared at the corners of his mouth. Worried brown eyes met Danny's panicked blue eyes. "Oh, my God! Danny! Chin, help me!" As Chin helped lift Danny's torso up, Steve quickly slid behind to prop him up.

"Danny, you okay?" Chin leaned in as he helped position his friend against Steve's chest. "Is that better? Can you breathe now?"

Danny nodded slowly but didn't speak. He closed his eyes and simply leaned on his friend. After a moment, he opened his eyes again, breath whistling as he sucked in air, and regarded the small circle around him. Kono was rearranging the blanket covering him after his coughing frenzy had dislodged it. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears but she steadfastly held them in. Danny knew Kono was tough and had seen her kick ass on more than one occasion so the sight of her holding back tears on his account tore at his heart. He tried to give her a reassuring smile. Catherine was simultaneously holding his hand while rubbing her hand against Steve's leg in reassurance. Though he knew that Catherine considered him a friend, he knew it was probably harder on her to watch Steve worry about him. He hoped that if this was it for him, she'd be able to help the big, bad SEAL recover from losing yet another person in his life. Just as he thought that, he looked at Chin and vowed not to be the reason for more grief in his life as well. He squeezed Catherine's hand with his right hand and tapped Chin's knee with his left, trying to reassure them both. He heard Steve muttering encouragements in his ear, but all he had the strength for was to roll his head on his friend's shoulder. He swallowed convulsively as the coppery taste in his mouth intensified but couldn't stop his body's reflexive demand to cough. His ohana's pleas were drowned out by the pain wracking his body and the darkness once again won out as his body went limp and the world went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve cradled Danny next to his chest, hoping the position would help his friend breathe. Steve knew one of the bullets must have either hit a lung or broken a rib which punctured the lung. Either way, he knew it was past time for that ambulance to get here. He felt Danny roll his head and tried to soothe him, and then Danny's body stiffened and after another coughing fit, went limp in Steve's arms. Steve reached for a pulse and was relieved to find one though his own pulse jumped as he noted how erratic and weak Danny's was. He looked around and yelled to no one in particular, "Where's that ambulance? We need it now!"

Almost immediately, the team heard sirens approaching and Robertson came running back, "Ambulances are about a minute out and so's the chopper."

Sure enough, the whump of the helicopter rotors could be heard and it shortly touched down in the nearby parking lot. Ambulances roared to a stop and HPD officers directed paramedics to the wounded teenagers while the chopper medics headed straight to the Five-0 team as directed by Robertson. The next few minutes were controlled chaos as Danny was quickly secured to the stretcher and loaded onto the chopper, two medics working furiously to clear his airway and insert a tube. An HPD officer gestured wildly and another stretcher was quickly unloaded.

Steve watched as the reddish blonde kid was also loaded onto the helicopter. He snagged the arm of one of the paramedics, "I'm coming with you."

"Sorry, sir," the paramedic shook his head. "There's no room."

"That kid is one of the shooters; he needs a guard."

"We'll make sure security is alerted when we get there," the paramedic told him. "We don't have room. We have to go, sir."

"Where are you taking them?" Steve questioned with a concerned glance at his partner. He hated not being with him.

"We're headed to Queens." And with that the paramedic jumped aboard and Steve was forced to move away as the chopper lifted off.

"Steve?" Chin put a hand on the man's shoulder as Steve watched the chopper until it was out of sight. "C'mon, let's get this mess taken care of so we can go to the hospital."

Steve nodded and looked over at Chin, his eyes belying what he said next, "He'll be okay, Chin."

Chin smiled, "He's tough, brah. Really tough."

"Yeah, I know," Steve agreed as they moved off to join the others.

"Hey," Catherine rubbed Steve's arm as he and Chin rejoined the group. "You didn't go with Danny?"

Steve sighed, "They said there wasn't room in the chopper. He's headed to Queens."

Catherine nodded and Kono turned to fill them in, "HPD wanted the one suspect airlifted with Danny due to the stomach wound. He's the most serious of our suspects here." She gestured at the two receiving treatment and the lone uninjured one who continued to sit and ignore everyone around him. "Robertson offered to take him back to the office and sit on him until we're ready. He said he'd get the booking information started. The other two are going to need treatment at a hospital before we can book them."

Steve nodded and pointed at two officers, "I want one of you on each of these suspects at all times. They need to be handcuffed at all times unless being treated by the doctor. They might look like kids, but they just gunned down my unarmed partner so they are not to be trusted."

The officers nodded, following their charges to the ambulance and getting in the back with them. Robertson took hold of the uninjured one and started to turn him towards his cruiser. He took two steps and turned back to address the team, "Could you keep me updated on Detective Williams, please?"

Chin smiled and nodded at the young officer who had helped them on previous cases, "We'll call you as soon as we know something."

"C'mon, let's go," Steve urged once the suspects were taken care of. He resisted the urge to run for his truck in his haste to get to his partner's side again.

H

5

0

Unable to convince Steve to let her drive, Catherine rode in silence keeping a wary eye on him. Chin followed in the Camaro while Kono drove her little, red car close behind. They pulled into Queens Medical Center where they all jogged into the Emergency Room, anxious for word on Danny.

Steve stormed up to the reception desk and all but pounded his fist on the desk.

A nurse turned at the sound of the commotion and one look at Steve had her flying around the desk, "Sir, where are you hurt? Someone get me a stretcher!"

"What?" Steve yanked his hand out of her comforting grasp. "What are you talking about? I'm not hurt." He showed her his badge. "Commander McGarrett; I'm here to see my partner. He should have been brought in by chopper a little while ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir," the nurse gestured at his blood-soaked shirt. "I thought you were injured."

Steve looked down at his shirt, not knowing how he looked. He swallowed hard as he realized he was covered in Danny's blood. He shook that off and returned his attention to the nurse, "Can you please find out what's going on with him? He and a suspect were brought in by chopper a little while ago."

"I'll go see what I can do," she assured him.

After five minutes, Steve was ready to storm the ER to find his partner. After ten minutes, the team was still able to convince him to wait relatively calmly. After fifteen minutes, the rest of them were no longer inclined to stop Steve if he decided to jump over the admitting desk to look for himself. After twenty minutes, the rest of the team was ready to join him and were restlessly pacing the waiting area. Finally, at the twenty-two minute mark, the ER nurse came hustling back.

"How is he?" Steve was practically vibrating with barely contained worry bordering on rage.

"He's not here," the nurse blurted out.

Four sets of eyes bore into the nurse, making her flinch and take a half step back. "We never had any patients brought in by chopper. We've been slammed with patients from the pile-up on the Pali, but they were all brought in by ambulance. No choppers brought patients today."

"Then where is he?" Kono wondered, her stunned look matching those of her teammates.

The nurse shrugged nervously, "I don't know. I'm sorry."

Steve wanted to hit something. Or shoot something. Or even blow something up. He settled for running his fingers roughly through his hair. Where the hell was Danny?

* * *

A/N: Oh, No! They lost Danny!

I know, I know, another cliffie, but you love me anyway. ;-)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews - even those who called me a big meanie for that last cliffie. Here's a slightly longer chapter to help appease you.

* * *

Steve rubbed his hands down his face as he digested the information that they were at the wrong hospital and, in effect, Danny was missing. The doors swooshed open and admitted two more gurneys and a flurry of activity for the nurse and rest of the ER staff. Steve heard talk of the crash on the Pali and knew that the staff was too busy to help them find their missing teammate. He abruptly turned and headed for the parking lot, knowing the rest would follow.

"How about if I go back to the office and see if I can figure out where they sent the chopper," Kono suggested. "That way I can check out this memory card, too. Maybe it really does have something on it that will help."

Steve nodded and got himself mentally back on track. A plan would help, "Do it, Kono. We'll go check out Tripler. They're the closest trauma center to here. If they got diverted, they probably ended up there."

"I'll let you know what I find," Kono called over her shoulder as she ran for her car.

The others also ran for their vehicles, the need to find their injured friend overriding any sense of decorum they may have felt. Again, Steve found himself racing through the streets of Honolulu heading towards his injured partner, or where he hoped he would finally find his injured partner.

Steve hastily parked and was practically out of the truck before he'd even thrown it into park. He rushed for the Emergency Room doors, Catherine and Chin close on his heels. Just as he reached the doors, his phone started ringing. Annoyed, he slowed to a stop and pulled it out to answer it, "McGarrett."

Chin and Catherine waited while Steve spoke with the caller. They had hoped for good news on Danny's location, but judging by the growing annoyance on Steve's face, that wasn't the reason for the call.

Steve ended the call, jamming the phone back in his pocket with the fleeting thought that touch screen phones were not nearly as satisfying as slamming a rotary phone down in frustration or even closing a flip phone with more force than necessary. He scowled at the others.

"What's wrong?" Chin wondered.

"That was Duke. He's actually inside," Steve explained and nodded his head towards the doors. "He got a call about a patient that he thinks might be one of our suspects. He just got here so I told him to wait for you guys."

"Aren't you coming in?" Catherine was confused.

"Apparently there's a problem over at Queens. The officer assigned to one of the thugs we arrested called him and has a problem. Since it's our bust, I need to go take care of whatever is going on. Let me know what's going on on this end when you get the chance."

"Of course," Chin nodded before entering the hospital with Catherine.

Steve retraced the route he'd just driven moments before and ground his teeth in frustration. He growled as he noted the clock on the truck's dashboard; it had already been an hour since his partner had left the scene in the chopper, and Steve was beyond frustrated at not knowing his partner's condition or even his location. Now he was forced to wait even longer to take care of what he was sure would turn out to be something utterly trivial.

The ER admitting room was much calmer as Steve walked into Queens. The commotion of arriving patients from the Pali Highway scene had all been triaged and moved into the treatment rooms or other sections of the hospital. Steve looked around but didn't see the HPD officer so he again approached the admitting desk though there was a different nurse staffing the station.

"May I help you, sir?" the matronly nurse looked up and then smiled. "Are you Commander McGarrett? Officer Lopez said you'd be here shortly. I'll take you to him."

"Thank you," Steve nodded.

"He's with the patient in Treatment Room 3," she rounded the desk to lead him down the hall and then stopped and frowned as she spotted his shirt. "Are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor?"

Steve sighed as he fingered his bloodied shirt, "No, I'm fine. It's, uh, it's not my blood."

"Oh," the older nurse paused and resisted the urge to pull him into a hug at the kicked-puppy look on his face. The look only lasted a moment though before being replaced by the fierce look she expected out of the task force leader. "Right this way."

Steve followed the nurse to the treatment room and could hear voices from behind the dividing curtain as he approached. He nodded his thanks to the nurse and quickly stepped in to take in the scene. The teenage suspect was sitting on the bed, left hand cuffed to the bed rail, while he cradled his bloodied and bandaged right arm to his stomach. The defiant look Steve had noted at the scene was still in place and had been joined by a smug look as he watched an older man go toe-to-toe with an HPD officer. A teary-eyed woman sat off to the side dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"I want that abomination removed at once!" the older man roared.

Officer Lopez looked him in the eye without flinching, "No, sir."

"My son is fifteen years old and shouldn't be treated this way," the man continued to rage. "He's injured for Pete's sake and has done nothing wrong. Who told you to handcuff a fifteen year old kid and..."

"I did," Steve interrupted, stepping further into the room.

"Who the hell are you?" the man demanded, rounding on Steve. "What gives you the right to have my son handcuffed and guarded? I want to know what's going on!"

Steve lifted the hem of his bloodied shirt to tuck behind the badge clipped to his belt, "Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, Five-0. Your son is under arrest."

The man seemed to calm momentarily as he took in Steve's title. He smiled a little too sweetly, "There must be some sort of a mistake, Commander. My son is a good boy, and whatever he's done, I'm sure we can work it out. You see, my name is Richard Duncan, and I'm a personal friend of Governor Denning so if you'd be so kind as to uncuff my son, we can have a reasonable discussion about all this."

Steve crossed his arms over his chest, "No."

"No?" Mr. Duncan spluttered. He stared in shock for a moment before turning to face his wife, "Mary, be a dear and call the governor, would you? I would like to have a chat with him concerning the commander."

Steve smiled, "Please do. I'd like to update him on our current case," he glanced over at the boy cuffed to the hospital bed. "I think we caught a lead today."

"Now wait just a minute, Commander," Mr. Duncan ordered. "I don't know what you think my son has done, but I'm sure it can all be worked out. Besides, can't you see he's hurt and in pain? The hospital hasn't been able to tell us what happened, but surely you have some compassion for an injured child."

"I can tell you how your son was injured, Mr. Duncan," Steve looked between the boy and his father and answered calmly, "The injury to his arm occurred when one of my team threw a knife at him as he was shooting at my injured and unconscious partner. He's lucky she aimed to incapacitate and not to kill."

Mr. Duncan shook his head, "That can't be true! Richie would never hurt anyone and certainly never shoot a police officer. Why would he do that?"

"I suspect he is involved in a petty theft and pickpocketing ring. My partner and another of our team were undercover to expose the criminals when he was ambushed. Your son and others opened fire on my unarmed partner and continued to shoot at him even after he was down." Steve's voice rose and his hands shook, "He has numerous gunshot wounds and so help me, if he dies your son will be charged with murder!"

The Duncans watched speechless as Steve spun around on his heel and left the room with a swish of the dividing curtain. Officer Lopez quietly stepped back into place, blocking the exit and silently daring them to ask him to remove the cuffs again.

H

5

0

Chin and Catherine watched as Steve rushed over to his truck and sped away to deal with whatever problem had just landed in his lap. They turned without a word and entered Tripler, hoping to find Danny.

"Chin. Catherine," Duke approached then as soon as they entered the Emergency Room.

"What's going on, Duke?" Chin asked.

"We got a call from hospital security about a tourist with gunshot wounds, and when I got here they said they had a teenage John Doe with a gunshot wound as well. I heard you guys had a run-in with some juveniles a little while ago so thought he might be one of yours." Duke paused and looked between the two, "How's Danny? I heard the officer down call and heard it was him, but it's been crazy with the pile-up on the Pali and a bad one downtown so I hadn't heard anything more."

Catherine frowned and shook her head slightly, "We don't know."

"We thought he was taken to Queens," Chin explained before Duke could ask what was going on, "but when we got there, we were told he wasn't there. We're trying to figure out where the chopper was diverted. We're hoping he's..."

"Wait," Duke stopped him. "Chopper? They said the tourist and teenage John Doe were brought in by chopper."

Catherine grabbed Chin's arm and gasped, "My God, Chin. Danny was dressed like a tourist, and he didn't have his badge on him."

A visual of Danny hitting the ground after the first shot sprang to Chin's mind in perfect clarity, "And he doesn't have his wallet. He dropped it when he was hit."

Chin and Catherine moved as one to the admitting desk, Duke following behind as he processed their conversation. The desk sat empty as Chin drummed his fingers on the top and looked around. Catherine grabbed his arm and pointed before heading down the short hall to approach a nurse who had just appeared, "Excuse me."

The nurse jumped at the sudden voice, but before she could complain about civilians in an off limits area, she noticed Chin's badge and Duke's uniform behind them, "Oh... HPD. We called about a couple of gunshot victims with no ID... well, one of them has a lot of ID's, but that's part of the problem."

"We're with Five-0," Chin held up his badge. "We think one of your gunshot victims is our teammate, Detective Danny Williams."

The nurse shook her head, "No, I don't think a detective was brought in. The paramedics usually tell us that so we know, and besides, this guy is certainly dressed as a tourist."

"We need to see him, please," Catherine pleaded. "We were undercover and he was ambushed. He didn't have his badge or ID on him when he was taken by chopper."

"They were both brought in by chopper," she mused. "Let me go check. I think they were finishing surgery on the younger one."

"Did he have a belly wound?" Chin wondered.

"Yes," the nurse nodded and double checked the clipboard she was holding.

"It's gotta be them," Catherine tried not to wring her hands and failed. "And the tourist? Did he have multiple gunshot wounds?"

"Yes," she frowned, "I'll have to check on him. He'd coded right as they got here. Last I knew he was still in surgery."

Chin, Catherine and Duke all exchanged nervous glances as she mentioned the patient had coded. Chin found his voice first, "We need to see him."

"I'm sorry," the nurse apologized, "I'll go check and get right back to you. I'll send someone out to let you know about the younger one."

They watched as the nurse disappeared through another door. Duke patted Chin's shoulder, "I'll check out the teenager. It sounded like they had some evidence so I'll take it and log it in for you and get someone started on finding out his identity. We'll notify any parents or guardians he may have."

"I'll come with you and make the ID on whether or not he was one of the shooters," Catherine told him and turned to Chin, "You look in on Danny, and I'll meet you back in the waiting room when we're done."

Chin nodded and found himself wanting to pace as they waited for the nurse to come back with news. It only took a few minutes before she reappeared with another nurse in tow. Duke and Catherine went with the second nurse while Chin followed the first towards the elevators and up to an operating room.

"I'll be right back," the nurse gestured for him to stay by the doors as she pulled on a mask and entered the operating room.

Chin nervously fingered the mask she'd handed him and tried not to think about the fact that the nurse had said the tourist had coded; he chose to focus on the fact that the man was still in surgery so if it was Danny, he was still hanging on.

A moment later, the nurse reappeared and gestured for Chin, "Put your mask on and you can follow me in. The surgeon said you could come in long enough to see if it's your guy, and it can't be long. He said it's rough going, but the patient's holding his own right now."

Chin nodded and fastened the mask around his mouth and nose before taking a deep breath and steeling himself for the answer they all so desperately needed. He followed her towards the operating table where the surgeon didn't even look up at their approach. He stopped as directed and took a long look before exhaling shakily, "It's him."

The nurse nodded and touched his arm in sympathy before turning back towards the door.

Chin straightened slightly and took a deep breath before addressing the doctor, speaking loudly and clearly through the mask so everyone in the room could hear him, "This is Detective Danny Williams, Five-0. He was injured in the line of duty. He has a daughter to go home to and ohana who need him. He is a fighter who will give you his all if you let him; I expect you to do the same for him." Chin looked at Danny again and dropped his voice though the hospital staff could still hear him, "You've got this Danny. You fight, and we'll be right here waiting for you. Don't worry about Grace; we'll take care of her."

The doctor glanced up briefly to nod at Chin's intense gaze. Chin returned the nod before following the nurse back through the operating room doors.

* * *

A/N: They've found Danny... do you forgive me now? Thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you again for all the kind reviews - it seems I am sort of forgiven for my dire cliffies, but since Danny still isn't out of the woods, some of you are withholding judgment.

This chapter is for KomodoQueen - Happy Birthday! Have a terrific day.

* * *

Catherine and Duke walked into the waiting room to find Chin sitting in the corner with his head in his hands. Catherine sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Chin? You okay?"

Chin looked up, sadness shining in his eyes, "It's Danny. They said it's rough going, but he's holding his own for now."

"He's tough," Catherine assured him. "He'll pull through."

"Yeah," Chin agreed. "I texted Kono and Steve. The nurse said surgery could take another hour, but they should be here. What did you guys find out?"

"I'll let Catherine explain," Duke told him. "I'm going to take this evidence in. I'll stop by later to see how Danny's doing."

"Thanks, Duke," Chin nodded at the reliable HPD sergeant. After he left, Chin turned to Catherine, "So, what's going on with the suspect?"

"They found a lot of credit cards and ID's on him," Catherine explained, "but turns out they did ID him because there was a school ID amongst them all. His name is Kevin Reynolds. They've contacted the parents who are on their way. I told the nurse to alert us when they arrived because we'll need to talk to them at some point."

Chin nodded, and they sat in silence for a few minutes until the minutes stretched into half an hour. They both jumped when the doors opened and Kono rushed in, tablet computer tucked under her arm.

"Hey, how's Danny?" Kono wondered as she joined them, "and where's Steve?"

"Steve had to go take care of a problem over at Queen's," Catherine explained.

"I'm here," Steve announced as he came in just in time to hear Kono's question. "How is he?"

Chin shrugged, "We haven't heard anything more. The nurse let me go in the operating room to make a positive ID. They said he was holding his own."

Steve let out a breath and looked around as if he could find the answer he was looking for. "What about the kid?"

"The nurse said he'd be okay. It was a belly wound that didn't hit anything major," Catherine explained. "Duke had an officer come down so he'll be under guard until he's released into custody."

The group fell silent as a couple came in and sat down near the front of the room. They looked scared and nervous as they held hands and kept glancing towards the door. They didn't have to wait long before a doctor entered and approached them, "Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds?"

Chin and Catherine exchanged startled looks as they overheard the doctor. The look was not lost on Steve or Kono. Steve, eyebrows furrowed, glanced between Chin and Catherine, "What?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" Kono wondered, glancing at the couple in hushed conversation with the doctor.

Catherine pulled Steve down to sit next to her, holding his hand to prevent him from going anywhere. Chin nodded Kono towards a chair and explained in a quiet voice, "Those might be the parents of our suspect...The one that Danny shot."

Steve glanced over, eyes narrowing as he took in the information. Catherine increased her grip on his hand so he didn't go off half-cocked.

The team, minus Steve, tried not to look or listen as the doctor finished his consultation with the distraught couple and then left. Steve stared at them without blinking, waves of hostility rolling off him. As the doctor left, he shook his hand free of Catherine's and was half way across the room before the others could react. He reached the couple just in time to hear the woman whisper, "I just don't understand what could have happened. How did Kevin get shot?"

"I can tell you how Kevin was shot," Steve's tone was deceptively calm.

"And you are?" Mr. Reynolds rose and looked confused as he hesitantly extended a hand.

Steve ignored the offered handshake, "Commander Steve McGarrett, Five-0. Your son, along with three other boys, ambushed my partner ... my unarmed partner... and shot him multiple times. Including after he was already down." Steve's voice shook as he pictured it all again.

"No, no," Mrs. Reynolds stood, gripping her husband's arm for support. "That's not possible. That's just not..."

"Your son," Steve steamrolled right over Mrs. Reynold's objections, "was shot by my partner when your son aimed a gun at us and tried to kill us both as I carried him out of the line of fire."

"I don't understand," Mr. Reynolds looked beyond shocked at what he was hearing. He looked to his wife who stumbled back and sat heavily as the back of her knees hit the edge of the chair. "Kevin is a good kid..."

Steve snorted but was interrupted from a further tirade as he felt Chin's hand on his shoulder.

"Steve," Chin's calm voice held a small note of warning. "This isn't helping."

Steve looked at Chin and would have blown up at him, too, except that he knew the man's words were true. He stood there for what seemed an eternity as Chin gazed passively and even sympathetically at him while an internal war raged within. Finally, his eyes softened ever so slightly before he turned swiftly and headed for the door. He slammed his open hand on the doorframe as he passed through, "Dammit!"

"I've got him," Catherine said softly before chasing after Steve.

Chin took a deep breath and turned back to the Reynolds, "Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, I'm Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly with Five-0, and this is Officer Kono Kalakaua. I apologize for that. Commander McGarrett is worried about his partner, Detective Williams. It's been a tough day," he nodded at them, "for all of us."

Mr. Reynolds looked ready to protest the way they'd been treated, but the defiance was fleeting as he sank down into the chair next to his wife, putting a protective and comforting arm around her shoulders.

Chin and Kono pulled chairs around to face the distraught couple. Chin looked between the two of them and spoke as gently as he could, "I know this is a difficult time right now, but could we ask you just a few questions?"

Mr. Reynolds hesitated, but his wife squeezed his knee and nodded, "If we can also ask a few questions."

Kono nodded, "Of course. Maybe you should start."

"I know you hear this all the time," Mrs. Reynolds looked them in the eye, "but Kevin really is a good kid, and I can't believe he is capable of doing what your commander said he did."

"Are you sure it was him?" Mr. Reynolds asked, hoping against hope that this was a case of mistaken identity.

"We're sure," Kono said gently.

"But what proof do you have?" Mr. Reynolds clung to the hope that what he was hearing was all a bad dream. "I'm still not sure I know exactly what you think he's done and how he ended up here."

"We believe Kevin was involved with a pickpocketing and petty theft crime ring," Chin explained. "Detective Williams and Lieutenant Rollins were undercover to try to expose the people responsible when Detective Williams was shot. Kevin was one of those shooters. He was found with multiple ID's and credit cards on his person. Our crime lab is still processing the weapons apprehended and fingerprinting all the suspects, but your son was in possession of a firearm and was injured in the process of firing on a police officer."

"But how do you know it was him?" Mrs. Reynolds pleaded, face two shades paler than a moment before.

Kono sighed; she'd been hoping to avoid showing them the proof. She glanced at Chin as she tapped on her tablet computer, "Immediately following the incident at the International Marketplace, we came in possession of a photographer's memory card which contained a photographic record of the shooting."

Chin looked at her intently, this being the first he'd heard the memory card contained anything useful. His heart sank as he read Kono's face and knew the pictures would be hard to see, but they would have to put aside their personal feelings as they would be valuable evidence.

Kono tapped a couple more times before turning the tablet so the Reynolds could see. Without a word she scrolled through a few relevant pictures. The initial pictures that Kono had scrolled through to find what she wanted were of someone else entirely, but in the somewhat fuzzy background of one, he had managed to capture the exact moment Danny was first hit followed in quick succession of pictures, each clearer than the last, of Danny's fall. Several more pictures captured the chaos of the fleeing crowd followed by several crisp shots of the shooters. She showed the Reynolds four pictures which showed their son, as evidenced by Mrs. Reynolds' gasp, with gun in hand, pointing it towards Steve carrying Danny across his shoulders. In the final photo she showed them, Chin's acute gaze noticed Danny's hand on Steve's gun as he started to pull it out of the holster. He knew Kono stopped at that one because the next would show Danny pulling the trigger and their son being shot. Guilty or not, his parents did not need to see that.

The Reynolds sat in stunned silence for a long minute as Kono put the tablet down and waited for them to compose themselves. She caught Chin's look to continue and cleared her throat quietly, "Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, is that your son? Is that Kevin?"

Mr. Reynolds swallowed hard, "Yes, that's Kevin."

"What happens next?" Mrs. Reynolds wondered. "Is he under arrest?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Chin informed her, "he is."

Mrs. Reynolds gulped but her voice held steady, "So now what? He's only 14. What do we do now?"

"Once he's released from the hospital, he'll be taken to a juvenile detention center. The District Attorney will compile the charges once he's viewed the evidence."

"Lieutenant," Mr. Reynolds looked intently at Chin. "I know you must think we are horrible parents for our son to do this, but I assure you that this is a complete shock to us. Kevin is our only child, and until today, we've never had a problem with him and certainly never would have expected this."

Mrs. Reynolds shifted slightly in her chair.

"Mrs. Reynolds, do you have something you'd like to say?" Kono wondered, noticing the woman's movements.

"Well," she hesitated. "I don't really know if it's relevant or not, but I have been a little worried about Kevin the last month or so. He's been a little more distant and reserved with us than usual. I got the feeling he was having some troubles with some of the kids at school. I tried to ask him, but he said he didn't want to talk about it yet. I didn't press him; I figured he'd talk to us when he was ready. We've always had open, honest communication."

Kono nodded but was interrupted by the door admitting a nurse. The nurse approached them, "Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds? I can take you to see your son now."

"Go ahead," Chin assured them as they hesitated. "We can talk again soon. Go see your son."

"Thank you," the couple chorused.

As they reached the door, Mr. Reynolds turned back, "Lieutenant, we will be hiring a good lawyer for our son, of course, but rest assured that if he truly was involved with any criminal activity, we will make sure that he is held accountable for his actions... And I do hope that Detective Williams will be okay."

Chin and Kono watched them disappear through the door and then sank back into their own chairs, settled in for what seemed like an eternity to wait on news about Danny.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hurray, it's extra chapter day! Thank you for all the kind reviews and PM's - they made my day when I needed it most.

* * *

An hour later the team still sat in the waiting room anxiously awaiting word on Danny's condition. Steve and Catherine had returned earlier with Steve looking calmer and more in control. They came back loaded with coffee so as time dragged on it was hard to tell if everyone was on edge due to stress, caffeine or a combination of the two. Chin and Kono sat next to each other off to the side while Catherine sat next to Steve who sat opposite the waiting room door so he would see immediately if anyone entered. Every once in a while someone would pace the room to stretch cramped muscles and work off a little pent up energy, but no one dared go farther lest a doctor or nurse choose that time to come in with news. Not a word had been spoken in quite some time.

Finally, the waiting room door opened to admit a tired looking doctor. Steve rocketed to his feet and tried not to pounce in anticipation.

The doctor looked around at the otherwise empty waiting room and the four eager faces. He gestured to the chairs and though they looked tired of sitting, he most definitely needed to so he didn't give them a choice, "Let's sit down."

"How's Danny?" Steve tried not to hold his breath as he waited for news.

The doctor drummed his fingers on his knee lightly as he considered his words, "I won't sugarcoat this. Detective Williams is in bad shape. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds including one through and through to his abdomen and two that didn't exit but instead chose to ricochet around inside him, causing extensive damage including puncturing a lung. He has numerous grazes and while most of those are relatively minor, he has a rather severe gash running across his back from his right shoulder to his left." He looked at Chin, "Thanks to knowing who he is and knowing that this was in the line of duty, we've documented all injuries and saved any evidence. We are done with surgery and stitching those numerous grazes, but we are having difficulty stabilizing his vital signs."

Steve ran his hands through his hair and huffed out a breath as the doctor continued his explanation. "So he's not out of the woods yet?"

"No," the doctor shook his head, "He is most definitely not out of the woods yet. He lost an extreme amount of blood, which we are trying to replace, but our blood supply is running low and so are the other hospitals' due to the two major car accidents today."

"We'll give blood," Steve gestured to the others.

"I'll call Duke," Chin nodded at Steve's comment, "He'll get some guys from HPD down here."

"And I'll call Kamekona," Kono smiled. "He'll get the word out to everyone else."

The doctor smiled, "I'll alert the blood center to prepare for an influx of eager donors. Thanks."

"So when can we see Danny?" Steve wondered.

"We need to stabilize him enough to move him into ICU and get him settled there," the doctor informed them, "It could be another couple of hours... Long enough for you to change clothes and get a good meal before you give blood. After that, we should have him settled in ICU. I'll alert the nurses to allow you access so long as it's no more than one or two of you at a time."

"Thank you, Doc," Steve didn't argue about the enforced break to change clothes and eat. He needed a moment to clear his head, and he fully intended to stay with Danny once he was allowed in to see him.

"Thank you, Doctor," Chin stood as the doctor did and shook his hand. "We appreciate everything you've done."

"Thank you. You gave us good incentive in there," he nodded and jerked his head towards the door in what they assumed was the general direction of the operating room. "I've always found it helpful to know who I'm operating on and what sort of incentive they have to recover from grievous injuries like this. Knowing that Detective Williams is a fighter and has so much to live for only makes my job easier. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on him. Please feel free to send a nurse for me if you have any questions or concerns later."

"Thanks, Doc," the group chorused as he headed out to the waiting room.

"Alright," Steve rubbed a hand over his face and gave Catherine a half smile as she squeezed his arm in encouragement. "Let's get some people down here to give blood."

"Do you want me to drive you home to change?" Catherine offered noting the tired lines around Steve's eyes.

"No," Steve shook his head. "I'll be okay."

"I'll have Kamekona bring us some food," Kono told them as she thumbed through her phone to the big guy's number.

"Good," Steve nodded. "I'll go change. You guys go ahead and stick around and give blood. I'll be back soon. He'll be okay. He will."

The gloomy atmosphere lightened a little as plans and phone calls were made. Before Steve even made it to his truck to head home, the first HPD officers were on their way to give blood.

H

5

0

Hours later Steve sat next to Danny's bed in ICU, absentmindedly scratching at the flexible bandage on his arm. After a moment he looked at it as if seeing it for the first time and unwound it from his arm; it had been hours since he gave blood so it was no longer needed. He leaned forward with elbows on knees and played with the stretchy bandage, wrapping it and unwrapping it around his hand. He stared at Danny as if willing him to wake up. Steve knew that wasn't likely any time soon, however. He had managed to go home to change clothes and give blood before Danny had been stable enough to even be put into ICU after surgery. Steve had anxiously waited outside the ICU cubicle while the nurses readied everything. He had barely let the doctor finish giving his okay before he'd rushed into the room; he hadn't moved since and had no intention of going anywhere for a while.

Steve studied his partner and frowned as he glanced at the monitors and various apparatus attached to his friend. He was no medical expert but years of training in basic and field first aid gave him enough knowledge to know that the fluctuating readings were not as encouraging as they should be. The steady stream of grim faced nurses also bespoke the seriousness of Danny's condition as they checked and rechecked monitors, replaced fluids, and took readings every fifteen minutes.

"C'mon, Danny, you can do this," Steve implored. He dropped his head into his hands, "You have to pull through because I am not calling your daughter and having that conversation. It was hard enough telling her that you're here."

Steve's head snapped up as an alarm beeped. He stood shakily and backed into a corner as a nurse appeared almost immediately. She silenced the alarm before expertly switching out an empty IV bag and checking a reading and was gone again as quickly as she had appeared. Steve slowly returned to his seat, face paler than a minute before. He leaned forward in his chair and huffed out a breath. He shook his head at his unconscious partner and, voice sounding funny to his own ears, admonished him, "Don't do that to me again, partner. You've scared me enough for one day."

Steve continued to sit beside his friend into the night, thoughts alternating between how everything went so horribly wrong and the pick pocketing case. If this group of teenage boys was the little gang they were looking for, and he was sure they were, why did they suddenly step up their game from petty theft to attempted murder? Steve worried that thought over and over in his head for hours and was no closer to an answer as he watched the clock tick over to 5:00 a.m. than he was at 8:00 p.m.

"I really wish you were awake, Danno. I'm sure you'd figure it out in no time. That's why you're the detective," Steve smiled as he realized how his partner would respond, "Yes, I did just admit you're a better detective. That's no secret, buddy, and I've never tried to claim otherwise."

Steve continued to mull the thought over for another three hours. Why had a group of pickpockets suddenly become attempted murderers? He thought if he could just answer that one question, the case would be solved.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: This chapter is for everyone in the DWOCD forum who is having a rough time right now.

* * *

Shortly after 8:00 a.m. Steve and Chin strode into HPD and looked around for Duke. They finally spotted him across the room and Steve flagged him down, "Hey, Duke."

"Steve," Duke waved away the officer he had just been talking to as he approached them, "I'm sorry to call and pull you away from the hospital. How's Danny?"

"Not much change, I'm afraid," Steve filled him in. "The doctor is still calling it touch and go. They're still giving him blood, and the doctor seemed a little worried about how much they'd given him already."

"He'll be okay, Steve," the older officer encouraged him.

"Kono's with him now," Chin told him, "She'll update us as needed, but we didn't think we'd be here long."

Steve nodded and attempted to hurry them along, "So what's going on?"

"Officer Robertson brought in one of your suspects yesterday," Duke explained. "He said he was one of Danny's shooters."

"Yeah," Steve chafed at the unnecessary explanation.

"He's not having much luck getting him booked," Duke went on, ignoring Steve's borderline rude behavior. He completely understood the commander's distress. "One of the other shooters was released last night after treatment for a gunshot wound to the upper right arm. It was a through and through which they treated, but they didn't feel he needed to be admitted and released him into HPD's care."

"So what's the problem?" Chin wondered. "Are the parents causing a stink? Because we'd be happy to explain to them what happened."

Duke shook his head, "That's the problem. We have been unable to locate any parents, and as a matter of fact, neither of the teenagers will give us their name. We've fingerprinted them, but so far nothing's come back."

Steve sighed, "Have we gotten anything from them?"

"Teenage attitude in the form of stony silence and defiant looks," Duke rolled his eyes in perfect imitation of a recalcitrant teenager.

"Terrific," Chin muttered.

"Where are they?" Steve looked unfazed. "They better talk to me."

"For now they're in the conference room with a couple officers outside the door," Duke gestured down the hall. "They'll be transferred over to juvie soon, but I wanted you to get a chance to talk to them first."

"Thanks, Duke," Steve told him as they arrived outside the conference room door. "We appreciate it."

"Just leave them in once piece," Duke smiled and joked. "I don't want to explain to the CPS caseworker what happened."

"That's why I'm here." Chin told him, not entirely joking.

Steve deliberately slammed open the door to the conference room, causing the two teens to jump in their seat. He glared at the two as he approached the table and sized them up. He noted the dark haired boy with the bandaged arm returned his gaze steadily while the uninjured blonde with glasses avoided looking in his eyes and nervously shoved his glasses up his nose with manacled hands. Both boys looked to be in their late teens. Steve leaned on the table in front of them and stared down at them. After a full minute of unwavering inspection, Steve finally broke the silence. His voice was deceptively quiet, "Let's start with your names."

When neither of the two teens would say anything, Steve leaned in closer to the dark haired teen and met the kid's defiant glare while seriously invading his personal space. His tone was icy, and he was rewarded with a slight flinch as he hissed, "Whether or not you cooperate is up to you, but even if you don't, you will be charged with attempted murder of a police officer, and I will make sure you're charged as an adult and get the maximum sentence possible."

"A police officer? But, sir, we didn't know he was a police officer," the teen's tone and glint in the eye said otherwise.

"So you just shot up an innocent tourist for the fun of it?" Steve countered.

The boy leaned back, slouching in his chair, disdain evident in his body language and tone of voice. If his hands would have been free, Steve was sure he would have crossed them smugly over his chest, "I have nothing more to say until my lawyer gets here."

"You have a lawyer coming?" Chin questioned, stepping to the side of the table. "You haven't made a phone call."

"Doesn't matter," he shrugged. "He'll be here."

"He'll have to find you in juvie," Steve gestured for Chin to get one of the HPD officers from the hallway. "I'm done with you."

As he was escorted out of the room, the defiant teenager turned and glared at the other boy, "Don't forget what he said. He'll take care of us. Stay strong."

The blonde teen squirmed in his seat, handcuffs jingling on his wrists. As the door shut behind his cohort, the squirming intensified as he felt Steve's intense gaze switch to him alone.

"What did he mean by that?" Steve asked. "Who will take care of you?"

The boy's mouth opened, and then shut again, as he warred with himself on whether or not to respond. Silence won out, but he sank ever lower in his seat as he made that decision. He gulped audibly as Steve and Chin waited on a reply.

Chin pulled up a chair to sit across from the boy, "If you talk to us, we can speak to the district attorney on your behalf. Maybe get you a lighter sentence for cooperating... Why don't you start with telling us your name?"

Again, the internal war raged as the boy thought over his choices. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Chin's phone buzzed. His heart raced as he saw Kono's name come up on the screen; she was at the hospital with Danny. His mind automatically came up with a thousand scenarios for why she was calling, and none of them were good. He flashed the phone at Steve to show him who was calling as he got up from the table.

Steve's mind whirled as he, too, wondered why Kono was calling them from the hospital. He followed Chin to the door and out into the hallway, trading places with the HPD officer for the moment.

"Kono," Chin held his phone out between him and Steve. "You're on speaker. What's going on?"

"Is Danny okay?" Steve knew he should just let her explain, but he couldn't help the question that was on both their minds.

"I dunno," Kono sounded hesitant. "Doctor Jensen came to check on him again, and he wasn't pleased with Danny's readings... They, um... they just took him down for surgery."

"Surgery?!" Steve exclaimed half a second before Chin could, "For what? What's going on? Is he strong enough for that?"

"Doctor Jensen thought maybe they missed a small bleeder," Kono explained. "He said that could be why his vitals aren't improving and they've had to give him so much blood."

"But is he strong enough?" Steve asked again.

"Doc said there wasn't a choice. They need to check it out and take care of it." She paused._ "_He seemed pretty confident... How's it going with the suspects?"

"One of them is pretty tight-lipped," Chin told her, "but I think the other one is pretty close to talking."

"Good."

"We'll have HPD hold onto him," Steve looked at Chin and nodded in the direction of the conference room door holding the teen suspect. "Kono, we're on our way, but I want a call if you hear anything about Danny's condition, okay?"

"If you're making progress with the suspect then just stay there," Kono countered. "There's no point in all of us sitting around waiting on news. Catherine's on her way, and we can let you know if we hear anything."

Steve hesitated, torn between his duty to the job and getting information that could help them solve the case, and his duty to be there for his friend. Chin looked at him in understanding and the older man, ever the practical one, helped him decide, "She's right, Steve. That kid was about to talk. Give me a little time, and I think I can get his name at least; if we can keep him talking maybe we can find out who their leader is and why they suddenly went from picking pockets to shooting people."

"Alright," Steve sighed, "Kono, stay in touch. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Go get him, Boss," they could hear her grin through the phone.

"Go ahead and take the lead," Steve told Chin as the other man disconnected and tucked his phone away. "Let's see what you can get from him. I'll wait out here, and if you haven't come out and told me you've got what we need in a few minutes, I'll come in and convince him it's time."

"Good cop, bad cop?" Chin grinned.

Steve shrugged, "It's a cliché for a reason."

"Maybe if I bring my shotgun next time, I'll get to play bad cop," Chin joked and then dropped the smile as he entered the conference room once again.

The teen jumped as Chin reentered the room and looked relieved when Steve didn't follow him in. The HPD officer hovered by the door but didn't leave after Chin waved him back where he was. Chin sat back down opposite the boy, setting his cell phone on the table next to him. "I apologize for the interruption. That was the hospital."

The boy gulped, but did not respond. He tried to read the stoic Hawaiian's face to decide if he'd just received good news or bad. His hands fidgeted in his lap causing the handcuffs to jingle.

"Is Kevin Reynolds your friend?"

The kid's eyes flew up at the mention of Kevin's name, but he still bit his lip and remained silent.

"Are you wondering how he's doing?" Chin continued, "Or Richard Duncan the third. Also known as Richie?" Chin didn't get the same reaction from Richie's name which he mentally noted as something he could perhaps use.

"How is Kevin?" the kid quietly asked. "He looked pretty bad."

"It never looks good when you're shot," Chin noted softly. "The doctor says he'll be okay, but he'll be in the hospital for a few more days."

"And, uh..." the boy stuttered nervously, no longer meeting Chin's gaze, "What about the officer? Is he... is he gonna be okay?"

Chin raised an eyebrow, surprised that the kid would ask and seemed sincere about it. "Detective Williams, who is _my_ friend, isn't doing so well. He is headed back to surgery right now." He gestured to the door. "Commander McGarrett is his partner and friend. He's giving me this chance to talk to you, but if I don't have anything for him soon, he's going to come back in here looking for answers. I'm thinking you don't want that."

The boy shook his head, "My name is Terrance Walters."

"Okay, Terrance," Chin nodded and gave him an encouraging smile. "We can call your parents in a little while so you can let them know you're okay. They're probably worried about you."

"My parents are dead," the boy shrugged. "They died in a car crash last year."

"I'm sorry," Chin told him, "Who can I call for you?"

He shrugged again, "No one. I don't have any family."

"How old are you?"

"I'll be 16 next month."

"So who do you live with?" Chin wondered. "Do you have a foster family?"

"I left," the kid told him.

"Why? Were they bad to you?"

"I guess not, but..." the kid sighed. "It just wasn't home."

"Where have you been staying then?"

"Here and there; with friends mostly or just out in a park until..." Terrance clammed up again after a fearful look at Chin.

"Until what, Terrance?" Chin looked at him intently. "I can't help you if you aren't honest with us. What's going on, Terrance? You don't seem like the type of kid to suddenly start shooting cops... and you did know he was a cop, didn't you?"

Terrance gulped and nodded, tears welling in his eyes, "Yeah, Richie was pretty sure he was a cop when we saw him the first day."

"You were watching him?"

"Yeah... Richie saw him a couple days ago and made him as a cop because he said he'd busted him a few years ago, but Richie got off on account of his dad knowing the governor or something."

"So why'd you ambush him?" Chin wondered. "Whose idea was it to do that?"

"I can't say," Terrance looked around nervously and jumped as the door opened and Steve walked in. He looked at Chin and pleaded, "I can't say... really, I can't. I've already said too much."

Chin reached over and put a calming hand on the boy's arm while shooting Steve a look to give him another minute, "It's okay, Terrance. We can help you."

"You don't understand," Terrance sounded terrified. "I really can't. He said he'd help us if we ever got into trouble, but I'm scared. It was his idea to shoot the cop, and he even told us how to do it..."

"Was he there?" Chin wondered.

Terrance shrugged, "I think so, but I don't know. He said he couldn't be a part of it, but he wanted to make sure we got the job done."

Steve clenched his jaw and had to force himself to remain still rather than pace the room as he listened to the kid describe the ambush on his friend and partner.

"He said we had to protect his business and this would show everyone that he was not to be messed with."

"This business he talked about," Chin coaxed more information, "Was it all the pick pocketing and petty thefts that have been taking place all over the island?"

"Yeah," the kid nodded, "He taught us how to do that and said he'd take care of us if we were ever caught."

"How many of you were there?" Steve asked from the back of the room.

"I dunno... maybe 10 or 12? I only know a few of them. He said it was best if we didn't know everyone's name in case we were busted and questioned by cops."

Chin and Steve exchanged looks; the leader sounded like a practiced criminal. Chin looked back at the kid, "Terrance, this has all been very helpful, but what would be the most helpful is to know the guy's name. Who is it that's calling the shots?"

Terrance squirmed in his seat and his hands started to fidget again while the two Five-0 men stared at him. Finally, he mumbled, "I can't... I just can't. He'll get me; I just know it."

Steve pulled a chair next to Chin's and leaned in towards the kid, "We can make sure that doesn't happen. You've cooperated with us so far, and we'll be sure to tell the district attorney that but you're facing some serious charges. Ambushing and shooting a police officer is not something a judge and jury will look at lightly."

"I didn't shoot at him!" Terrance stood up in protest and then sat back down hastily as the HPD officer took a step forward, hand on gun. "I swear I never fired that gun! I didn't want to do it, but..."

"But what, Terrance?" Chin prompted.

"I didn't want to look like a coward," Terrance mumbled.

Steve pushed himself away from the table and paced angrily around the room.

"We need the leader's name, Terrance," Chin urged him, "before someone else gets hurt."

Terrance chewed his lip and nudged his glasses up his nose with his shoulder while he thought. He rocked in his chair and shook his head.

"C'mon, Chin," Steve sighed. "He's not going to give us anything more. There's only going to be so much the DA can do for him."

Terrance hesitated again, but as Steve and Chin reached the door, he suddenly blurted out, "Fagin. He's called Fagin."

Chin and Steve exchanged looks and approached the table again, unsure if they heard correctly. Steve looked down at the kid, "Say that again."

"Fagin," Terrance repeated, "You know, like in _Oliver Twist_."

Chin couldn't stop a chuckle, "Damn, Danny's good."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Have I mentioned that I'm not a medical professional? Well, I'm not so please forgive any errors in medical jargon or anything related to the medical field.

* * *

Steve and Chin returned to the hospital and walked into the waiting room right behind Doctor Jensen. The weary doctor again motioned them to sit. He surveyed the small, anxious group and wondered briefly what they looked like when they were smiling. He tried a small smile of his own to help ease their anxiety, "I apologize for the last minute surgery and the worry that I know that caused. I am happy to report that all went well, and we did indeed find a small bleeder and have taken care of it. We're going to give Detective Williams two more units of blood and see where his vitals are after that. I believe we're going to start seeing some improvement from him soon."

"You believe?" Steve questioned.

Doctor Jensen shrugged, "I can't guarantee anything, of course, but I'm very impressed with how he handled both surgeries. Given the trauma received yesterday and his vitals not stabilizing where we'd like them, I never would have operated today had I not been almost 100% sure we had missed something. However, I'm quite pleased with the results so far and given that Detective Williams is a fighter," he smiled all out at Chin this time, "which I've now seen for myself, I'm very hopeful."

"So you're saying he's going to be okay?" Steve pressed on.

"I can't promise that, of course," Doctor Jensen told him, "but I like his odds at this point."

There were relieved sighs and tired smiles from the Five-0 group though Steve's forehead was still crinkled with worry, and he couldn't bring himself to smile just yet. "When will we know for sure?"

Doctor Jensen sighed, partly because the task force leader seemed to want an exact time, and partly because he knew the man before him was not going to like what he was going to request of them all, "The next 24 to 48 hours will be most critical, of course, but I think we could start seeing some improvement maybe even in the next 12 hours. That's a rough guess, of course, and not a reason to worry if there's not much improvement in the next day. We'll just keep fighting for him and helping him fight for himself as well."

Steve nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer, "So when can we go back to see him?"

Doctor Jensen met Steve's gaze and answered calmly, "Twelve hours... at least."

Steve paused as the words sank in. He narrowed his eyes at the doctor and gave him what he was sure Danny would call his Death Stare, "What?"

"Twelve hours, Commander," he looked at the small group, "All of you. I don't want to see any of you here in the next twelve hours at least. You especially, Commander. I know that you are worried about your teammate, your friend, but it won't do him any good if you've run yourself into the ground before he even regains consciousness."

"I'm fine," Steve stubbornly insisted, ignoring Catherine's hand on his arm.

"You've been here almost twenty-four hours, Commander, and I doubt you got any sleep last night. You need to get yourself a good meal and a decent amount of sleep."

"He's right, Steve," Catherine squeezed his arm gently. "Danny will need you more when he wakes up than he does right now."

"You'll call if there's any change," Chin stated rather than asked.

"Of course," Doctor Jensen assured them. "I'm keeping a close eye on him. I'm also headed home to get a few hours of sleep, and then I'll be back. The head nurse on duty knows to call me, and she'll keep a good eye on him, too."

Steve looked ready to protest despite Catherine's hand on one arm and Kono's now resting on his other arm.

"I mean it, Commander," Doctor Jensen noted the near-rebellion in Steve's eyes. "Twelve hours minimum. The head nurse is under orders not to let anyone in his room in that time frame, and I suggest you not test your luck with her."

Finally, Steve admitted defeat and followed the others out of the hospital. He picked his way through a late lunch, eating only through necessity, before allowing Catherine to take him home and practically shove him into bed to get some sleep. He was asleep within five minutes, mentally cursing his body for its all too human weakness and the need for sleep even as he drifted off.

It should have been no surprise that exactly twelve hours after Doctor Jensen ordered the team to take a break, Steve was again sitting next to his partner's side. Despite that twelve hour mark coming in the middle of the night, Steve was back at the hospital with the chair pulled close to Danny's bedside. The head nurse came in to take an hourly reading for the chart and jumped as she noticed Steve sitting in the chair in the dimly lit room.

"It's been twelve hours," Steve pointed out.

The nurse pursed her lips, but a glance at her watch showed that it had indeed been the required twelve hours. Just.

"How's he doing?"

The nurse took the reading from the machine and tried to figure out how he could have slipped past her at the nurse's desk. She'd passed by the room not five minutes before and peaked in so she knew he hadn't been there then; she'd gone straight back to the duty station, which everyone entering the unit had to pass, and yet she had not seen him enter the room. She shook off the uneasy feeling that gave her as she answered his question, "His readings are starting to improve. His blood pressure has come up, and we haven't had to give him any more units of blood since the surgery this morning... well, yesterday morning."

"Has Doctor Jensen been in again yet?"

"He's due back in a couple of hours," the nurse fiddled with a few more things while recording readings. She turned back to Steve, "What about you? Did you get some sleep?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Steve assured her, "and, yes, I ate something, too. I'm good for a while now so no need to worry about me; just take care of Danny."

The nurse nodded, "His dressings need to be changed so I'll be right back if I can find someone to help me. We're a little shorthanded tonight."

"I'll help," Steve stood, and at the nurse's hesitant look, assured her, "I can handle it."

"It's different when it's someone you're close to," she pointed out.

"I was in Afghanistan so I've done this on buddies plenty of times," Steve told her and then shrugged, "besides, when he's released I'm probably going to be the one helping him do it then, too."

"Alright," she acquiesced.

For the next several minutes the nurse expertly redressed Danny's wounds with assistance from Steve. Other than what was necessary to complete the task, not a word was spoken as they cleaned and re-bandaged Danny's many wounds. Steve clenched his jaw and fought back raw emotion as he helped care for his battered and bruised friend.

"He did well," the nurse soothed Steve as she took more readings after they finished, "Even though he's unconscious, this can take a toll on someone, but his vitals look good, not too stressed, so he's doing great."

"Good," Steve found a nearby cloth and wiped Danny's face. He put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in, "You can do this, Danny. You just have to fight a little while longer so you can come back to us, but you're tough and you're gonna be just fine. I know you are, buddy."

The nurse patted Steve's shoulder as she left the little room, "We're all taking care of him the best we can, Commander, including you. Let us know if you need anything, and I'll send Doctor Jensen in when he gets back."

Steve nodded and settled into the little chair next to Danny's bedside. He spent the next two hours alternating between encouraging his partner to get better soon and going over the case out loud, fervently wishing his partner was conscious so they could bounce ideas off of each other.

The first thing Doctor Jensen did after he arrived at Tripler in the early pre-dawn hours was go to the ICU to check on Detective Williams. He chuckled as the nurse described Commander McGarrett's ninja-like appearance in his partner's room exactly twelve hours after the doctor's imposed rest break. He scanned the nurse's notes and headed into the unit where he found the Five-0 leader sitting as close to the hospital bed as he could get, "Well, Commander, I can't say that I'm terribly surprised to see you here."

"You said twelve hours," Steve barely managed not to sound like a petulant teenager as he crossed his arms over his chest, "I stayed away twelve hours."

"And not a minute more from what I hear," Doctor Jensen grinned. "Nurse Cynthia says you're quite the ninja sneaking in here."

Steve glanced at Danny and shrugged, "Not the first time I've been called that."

"If there was a window in here, I'd check for grappling hooks because she swears there's no way you should have gotten in here without her noticing."

Again, Steve shrugged, "There's always a way if you know what you're doing."

Doctor Jensen let it go and turned his concentration back to his patient. He studied readings, took Danny's pulse manually rather than just relying on the machines, took a peek at a couple of the bandaged wounds, and finally nodded in satisfaction, "Much better."

"Yeah?" Steve's hopes soared.

"Yeah," Doctor Jensen confirmed with a nod. "His vitals are looking much better, and though he's still critical, I think he's starting to turn that corner and level out. I think we'll reduce the sedation a bit and see what happens."

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

"I doubt he'll wake in the next several hours, but we'll see. If he does, it won't be for long," the doctor explained. "We'll keep a close eye on things in case his vitals dip again without the sedation, but if not, he could regain consciousness some time later today, but I won't promise that. He's suffered a severe trauma so the best thing for his body right now is to rest and heal."

"Thanks, Doc."

Doctor Jensen paused at the door, "And don't forget to take care of yourself, too, Commander."

Steve nodded, "I'll be fine."

Chin, Kono and Catherine arrived a few hours later with coffee in hand for Steve. None of them were surprised to hear that he had not left Danny's side since he'd come back after the imposed rest period. Catherine convinced him to leave for an hour so she could take him for an actual breakfast at a nearby diner while the cousins sat with Danny. After breakfast, Steve told them all to go to the office to start looking into what Terrance Walters had told them about the pick pocketing gang and the leader's alias of Fagin. He made them swear to keep him in the loop while he stayed with Danny.

By late afternoon, Steve was dozing in the uncomfortable plastic chair and the nurses were getting used to moving around him quietly as they checked Danny's vitals periodically. When Doctor Jensen came in Steve was still sleeping, but the doctor was pleased to see movement behind Danny's closed eyelids.

Doctor Jensen grinned and leaned closer to capture Danny's gaze as he was rewarded with bleary blue eyes after a few minutes of waiting, "Detective Williams, do you know where you are?"

Danny blinked several times to get his eyes to focus and finally nodded at the doctor leaning over him.

Nurse Cynthia appeared in the room and immediately stepped out and came back in with a small cup of ice chips. She expertly spooned a small bit into Danny's mouth to help moisten it, "There you go, sweetie. That should help."

Danny swallowed and offered her a small smile in thanks. He could feel his eyes grow heavy and his body's need for more sleep, but there was something he needed to know first. He slowly rolled his head one way and, seeing nothing but hospital equipment past the nurse, rolled it the other way and was rewarded with the sight of his sleeping partner by his bedside. He studied him for a moment before looking back at the doctor. He swallowed and managed to croak softly, "He okay?"

Doctor Jensen wasn't entirely surprised that his patient's first question upon awakening was about his partner. He nodded, "Yes, he's fine though stubborn and won't leave until he knows you're okay."

Danny smiled and nodded slightly, "Everyone else? They okay?"

"Your team is fine, Detective," the doctor assured him. "They were all here a little bit ago, and I'm sure they'll be back."

Danny's eyes closed, and Doctor Jensen thought he was asleep until he opened them again for one more question, "What about the kid? I shot a kid... did I kill him?"

Doctor Jensen put a calming hand on his patient's arm as the heart monitor started to beep, "Calm down, Detective. You did not kill him. He's going to be okay."

Awakened by the beeping, Steve blearily sat up and looked around. He jumped up in a panic, fully awake, when he noticed the doctor leaning over his partner. "Doc, what's wrong? How's Danny?"

The corner of Danny's mouth twitched at Steve's panicked response as he wearily lifted a hand to clasp his partner's hand in his own. He looked him straight in the eye and whispered, "Neanderthal," before his eyes closed again, smile firmly etched on his face in sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Because it feels like Friday, but it's not, here's an extra chapter for the day. Let's find out how Danny is doing.

* * *

Steve continued to stay next to Danny's side despite continued assurances from Doctor Jensen and the nursing staff that Danny was doing better with each passing hour. Even Danny, who would awaken for short amounts of time every few hours, tried to convince his stubborn partner that he was okay and should go home for some rest. Danny's argument may have been more convincing had he not fallen asleep in the middle of his plea three different times so that his simple request of, "Go home, Steven... I'm okay... you don't need to be here," came in increments at 7:00 p.m., 11:47 p.m. and 3:12 a.m.

Danny's progress was positive and steady enough that within 36 hours of his initial awakening, Doctor Jensen declared he was ready to be moved out of ICU and into his own room. Danny slept through the transfer of rooms and finally awoke to the late afternoon sun streaming in the window. He was taken aback for a moment by the different room but quickly surmised it was a positive change. He smiled as he saw Chin, Kono, Steve and Catherine hunched together having a hushed conversation a few feet away.

It was Chin who first noticed Danny was awake and watching them. He was on his feet in an instant, matching Danny's tired grin with one of us his own as he reached the bedside, "Hey, brah, how ya feeling?"

Danny considered the question a moment, allowing the others to catch up and reach his side as well, "Better... I think."

"You look better, brah," Kono assured him as she leaned down to kiss his forehead.

Danny's smile widened at the unexpected display of affection, "Thanks."

"Yeah," Catherine agreed as she patted his arm, noting he didn't feel as warm as he had while in ICU and a quick peek at the monitor confirmed that his temperature, while still slightly elevated, was closer to normal, "Good to see you feeling better. You gave us quite the scare there."

Danny's smile faltered as a foggy memory of lying on the grass gasping for breath, but surrounded by his closest friends, surfaced. He remembered the ache of knowing that his pain caused them hurt and was glad that this time they had all managed to overcome the odds once again. His eyes locked with his partner's, "Sorry 'bout that," he mentally shook off the morbid feeling and his mouth quirked up, "You know me... I was just dying to be done shopping."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Kono slapped his arm, and tried not to giggle, "Not funny, brah!"

"Too soon, buddy. Too soon," Steve told him though his eyes were sparkling with barely contained humor.

"Got it," Danny nodded. "So how goes the case? Did we get the bad guys?"

Four sets of shoulders slumped slightly and all humor was gone as Chin answered, "Not yet. We're working on it but..."

"We've had some good leads," Catherine told him, trying to encourage them all. "Chin and Steve got some solid intel from one of the teens."

"But we still can't track down the ringleader," Steve ground out. He was taking it personally that they had yet to find the man who had ordered the hit on his partner. He was also frustrated that he couldn't be in two places at once, which would allow him to be by his friend's side as well as leading the team in their search for the man in charge.

Kono patted his arm gently, "But I have to say that you're amazing, brah."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "Well, I knew that, but to what do I owe the compliment?"

"Remember a few days ago when we first came up with the undercover idea?" Kono wondered, needlessly. "You described the operation like something out of _Oliver Twist_ with a Fagin acting as the ringleader."

At Danny's nod, Chin took over the explanation, "One of the kids we interviewed, Terrance Walters, told us that the guy in charge was called Fagin."

"But we can't figure out what his real name is," Steve told him, frustration evident in his tone.

"Kamekona's never heard of anyone going by that name," Catherine chimed in, "and there is no record of anyone using the alias of Fagin."

Danny surveyed his friends and the despondent look on all their faces. He wondered if it was the drugs, but the answer seemed rather clear to him, "Have you geniuses thought that maybe... just maybe... this guy's real name is Fagin?"

The rest of the team stared at Danny who calmly blinked back before Chin, ever unflappable, nodded at Danny, "I'll go check it out."

"I'll come with you, Cuz," Kono quickly followed Chin to the door.

Steve narrowed his eyes at Danny and silently wondered how his partner, drugged up on pain medicine, could have come to that one simple conclusion which had evaded the rest of them.

"You know you want to go with them and see if I'm right," Danny smirked, allowing his eyes to close longer with each blink as the exertion of the last few minutes made his body beg for more rest. Danny opened his eyes again to look pointedly at his partner, "Don't look so surprised, buddy. You said yourself that I'm the better detective so trust me and go see if I'm right."

Steve's eyes widened and then narrowed as he regarded his partner suspiciously. He was about to question how Danny could know he'd said that, but then just shook his head and let it go.

Catherine grinned at Danny and patted his arm, "Get some sleep, Danny. We'll let you know what we come up with."

"Take him with you," Danny nodded towards Steve, and directed the rest to his hovering partner, "I'm okay now... really. Get some sleep. I'll still be here tomorrow."

Steve hesitated, but he really was itching to get back to the office with Chin and Kono to see if their new search would be fruitful, "Okay, buddy. I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest."

A little while later, the rest of the Five-0 team stood at the smart table and stared in disbelief at the screen. Chin grinned at the others and patted Steve on the shoulder, "I'll say it again... damn, Danny's good."

Up on the screen, the mug shot of a man scowled at them. He had dark bushy eyebrows that nearly covered his beady, brown eyes. A long, thin scar ran from his right temple down to the corner of his mouth, increasing the scowl on his face. His hair was stringy and hung down to his shoulders in a haphazard mess. His list of offenses displayed on the screen ranged from pickpocketing to attempted murder and dated back at least ten years. The team saw none of those details as they stared at the name next to the picture: John Fagin.

* * *

A/N: Alright, show of hands - how many of you thought Fagin was his real name and not just an alias? (and Fifilla and Wenwalke, you don't count!)


	11. Chapter 11

The next afternoon Steve strode back through the halls of the hospital towards Danny's room. Danny had not been surprised to see Steve next to his bedside when he'd woken that morning despite the early morning hour. Steve had been anxious to fill his partner in on what they'd found. The team had wound up working into the late hours of the night trying to track down John Fagin. Now, Steve was back to let Danny know that they were ready to check on the two possible locations. Steve and Kono would check a warehouse that had popped up in their search while Chin and Catherine checked Fagin's last known address.

Danny nodded as Steve finished the brief update and their plans for arresting Fagin, "Steve..." Danny trailed off as he regarded his partner. He pushed himself farther up the bed, wrapping an arm around his midsection and wincing in pain as he jostled the healing injuries. He studied his partner who was fully geared up for the takedown, "Be careful, Steve. And remember you aren't alone; Kono will have your back just like I would if I were there."

Steve nodded in understanding and taking one step closer, quickly grasped his partner's hand before spinning around and striding out the door once again. He didn't even realize that people he met in the hall gave him a wide berth as they took in the stern, determined look on his face.

Steve surveyed the warehouse while the SWAT team waited patiently for his orders. As they pulled up, Chin called to let them know that he, Catherine and their SWAT team contingent had come up empty. Steve set his jaw and peered through a heat sensor scope hoping to get an idea of how many they'd be up against. He shut it off and brusquely handed it to a nearby HPD officer to put away. He turned to survey his charges while Kono stepped up to his side. He didn't need to raise his voice for them all to hear as the urgency of his tone spoke volumes, "Okay, it looks like there might be a dozen gathered in the northwest corner there," he gestured to the appropriate location, "there are office spaces above that same area so be on the lookout. You've all seen what our target looks like. The rest of the individuals inside may well be teenagers, but don't let that fool you. Four teenagers ambushed and shot my partner so they could be armed and dangerous; treat them as such."

Steve sent one group to the far side of the warehouse while he led the main forces towards the entrance where the heat signatures were located. As they approached the door, he gestured for the two SWAT officers to use the battering ram to open the door. As soon as they had done their job, he charged in, tossing two flash bangs towards opposite corners of the small space. Kono followed close on his heels; the rest of the SWAT officers followed them in and fanned out.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught Steve's attention and as he looked up, he couldn't help a scowl. Without a word, he sprinted for the metal stairs leading up to the warehouse offices where he'd caught a glimpse of their target. Kono followed while the SWAT officers rounded up the suspects on the lower level.

Steve caught a glimpse of movement as he reached the top of the stairs and took off down the hallway at a dead run. He barely slowed as he hit the emergency exit door at the end and took the stairs up two at a time. As he burst through the door to the roof, he crouched and fanned the area with his gun. He finally slowed enough to think about what he was doing and to hear Danny's screaming voice in his head telling him to wait for his backup to catch up. He half-smiled at that and kept walking towards the air conditioning units on the far side of the building which offered the only cover on the roof.

Kono reached the roof of the building just as Steve reached the air conditioning units. She quickly ranged off to the side so she'd have a better shot should she need it.

"John Fagin," Steve ordered loudly, "Come out with your hands up!"

Kono continued to move to Steve's side, keeping her gun trained in the same area. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a SWAT officer approaching from the other side. Their suspect was surrounded.

"John Fagin," Steve tried again, "Five-0. You're surrounded! Come out with your hands up. Now!"

There was a moment of strained silence during which Steve thought he was going to have to go in and yank Fagin out. He was tensing to do just that when there was a slight scuffling followed by two hands appearing over the air conditioning unit and, finally, the rest of the suspect's body, "Don't shoot. I'm right here. Don't shoot."

Steve gestured to Kono who quickly holstered her gun and expertly handcuffed John Fagin while Steve glared at him over the barrel of his gun. When she was done, she backed off and again trained her weapon on him as Steve holstered his.

Steve eyed Fagin for a full minute, making the man squirm, before he stepped into the man's personal space, "John Fagin, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Detective Danny Williams and whatever other charges the DA decides will keep you in jail for a very long time."

Fagin sneered, "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know who this detective is you speak of, and I know I had nothing to do with any attempted murder or anything else you think you can charge me with."

Steve couldn't resist baiting the man just a little, "One of the kids talked, Fagin. We know all about the pickpocketing ring and your scheme to ambush Detective Williams. What I want to know is why?"

Fagin couldn't resist taking the bait and shrugged, "With a name like Fagin this line of work seemed like destiny."

Steve gestured to the SWAT officer to take Fagin into custody, but he had one more thought for the man, "Well, we know what happened to Fagin in the end, don't we?"

"I never actually read it all," Fagin admitted.

Steve shook his head, "You should have... they sentenced him to hang for his crimes."

H

5

0

Danny couldn't sleep after Steve left his room on his way to take down Fagin. Despite knowing that Steve had Kono and a contingent of SWAT with him, Danny was restless knowing that he couldn't be there to serve as backup for his partner. From his first day as Steve's partner, he'd taken the backup role seriously and despite joking about it, he was determined to fulfill that role to the best of his ability; it was not easy to do nothing but sit and worry about his partner's welfare and wait for word on how the takedown went.

Doctor Jensen had seen Steve leave Danny's room earlier, and judging by the look on the commander's face, he could tell something was up so he'd done what he could and looked in on his patient. A little over an hour later he decided to check again and was somewhat surprised to see Danny awake, "Detective, you're awake again. How do you feel?"

"More like still awake," Danny answered. He glanced at his phone, willing it to ring, "They went to take down the ringleader."

"Ah," Doctor Jensen nodded. He didn't know the specifics of the case that put a member of Five-0 under his care, but he didn't really need to understand more than his patient's injuries to understand why the man would be worried about his teammates. His friends. Whoever had taken part in the ambush on the man before him, whether directly or indirectly, would be considered armed and dangerous for a good reason. "Would you like me to give you a mild sedative to help you relax?"

"No," Danny vehemently answered with a shake of his head. He eyed the doctor wondering how his next request would go over, "I don't suppose I could get up and walk a little? I need to do something."

Doctor Jensen considered the request and regarded the man in front of him, "I was going to wait another day before having you get out of bed, but if you think you're up to it, we'll try a short trip... And by short, I mean maybe to the door and back."

Danny grimaced but agreed. Anything to move just a little and to momentarily keep his mind from wandering would be welcome, "Fine."

Doctor Jensen summoned a nurse and between the two of them, got Danny situated on the edge of the bed. Beads of sweat appeared on Danny's forehead but a brief nod told the doctor he wasn't about to give up yet. "Alright, Detective, nice and slow. We're going to be on each side of you so don't be afraid to lean on us as needed."

"Doc," Danny grunted as he pushed himself to a standing position. "Feel free to call me Danny. You had to stitch me back together, from what I hear, so you might as well be on a first name basis with me."

"Okay, Danny it is then," Doctor Jensen smiled. "Let's take this nice and slow. I don't want to have to stitch you back together again."

Danny painfully shuffled to the door, leaning on the doctor and the small but steady nurse on his other side. As he turned to head back to the bed, he grunted and was dismayed to see what a short distance he'd actually covered despite it feeling like he'd walked a mile. He shuffled back to his bed, and after getting settled again, gave his two helpers a lopsided grin as he wiped sweat off his face, "Dang, that shouldn't be that hard."

"You did great, Danny," Doctor Jensen patted his shoulder, "but that's enough for today. Get some rest."

A quiet knock on the door interrupted them. Danny didn't recognize the couple hesitantly peeking in his room.

"Can I help you?" Doctor Jensen asked them.

"We were wondering if we could have just a moment with Detective Williams," the man told them even as the woman hesitated back towards the hallway.

A quick glance at Danny told him that he didn't know the couple, "Detective Williams needs his rest."

"It's okay, Doc," Danny told him quietly. He wasn't sure why he felt like he needed to talk to them now, but he figured that whoever they were it would help get his mind off waiting for his cell phone to ring.

"Detective, my name is Henry Reynolds, and this is my wife, Martha," the man explained, "You don't know us, but our son, Kevin, is the boy..."

Martha patted his arm as the man choked up a little and couldn't continue. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look Danny in the eye, "Kevin was one of the boys at the Marketplace... He was the one you shot."

Danny shifted uncomfortably on the bed, wrapping an arm around his stomach as the stitches pulled and pain flared in his abdomen, and asked quietly, "How is he? He's going to be okay, right?"

The Reynolds exchanged glances, surprised that he would ask about their son and seemed genuinely concerned about his well-being. "Yes, he's going to be fine. His doctor says he may even be released in the next day or so."

Danny nodded, unsure of what to say next. He was relieved to hear that the kid would be okay, but he was not about to apologize for shooting him in defense of his partner.

Henry Reynolds shuffled his feet nervously, "Detective we just... we just wanted you to know that we're sorry for what Kevin did, and we will do everything in our power to see that he gets the help that he needs."

"I know you probably don't think so," Martha Reynolds wiped a tear from her cheek, "and I guess I can't blame you for thinking ill of him, but Kevin really is a good kid."

Danny held up a hand, the other still wrapped protectively around the worst of his wounds, "Mrs. Reynolds, I don't know why Kevin did what he did, and I do hope that he gets some help and turns his life around."

"Thank you, Detective," Mr. Reynolds nodded.

"And maybe," Danny continued, "I can talk to him at some point to let him know that I didn't want to shoot him. He's actually not much older than my daughter," Danny took in a shuddering breath, feeling his strength fading fast as his body started to give in to the stress, "but I would do it again if it meant protecting my partner."

At that moment, there was another commotion at the door and Steve burst in, smile fading to a scowl as he took in the visitors along with Danny's visible and growing physical distress, "Danny, we... what's going on?"

"Down, boy," Danny motioned to Steve as he noticed the Reynolds jump and back away from his partner.

Steve quickly moved over to stand protectively next to his partner and faced the Reynolds, "What are you doing here?"

"Easy, Steve," Danny put a calming hand on his partner's arm and smiled apologetically to the couple, "they were just here to see how I was doing and apologize for their son. I was just telling them that I would like to visit with Kevin after I'm out of this blasted place..."

"Okay," Doctor Jensen jumped in as Danny's voice started to fade and the readings on the monitor started to jump, "I think that's enough for today, Detective."

"We're sorry for the intrusion," Henry Reynolds apologized and steered his wife towards the door, "Thank you for your time, Detective. Feel better."

Danny nodded at them and turned his attention to Steve who was leaning in to tell him the important news. The Reynolds heard it, too, as they reached the door, "We got Fagin, Danno. We got him."

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A/N: Again, thank you for all the kind reviews. I appreciate each and every one and hope I've responded to each reviewer at least once if possible. One more chapter to wrap things up.


	12. Chapter 12

Danny reveled in sitting in the sun. He'd been out of the hospital for just shy of two days, and he swore the antiseptic smell of the hospital still clung to him. He glanced to his right where his partner was leaning against a tree, anxiously waiting for him to finish his mission. Farther back, he could just make out the rest of the team waiting not so unobtrusively by the vehicles. Danny smiled at their hovering, and then turned his attention back to the matter at hand as he heard the gate to the juvenile detention center open and a small knot of people headed his way. Danny smiled and waved off the HPD officer escorting Kevin Reynolds and his parents his way, "Thanks, Al, but I can take it from here. Why don't you keep Steve company for a little while, and keep him calm for me?"

"Sure thing," Officer Robertson veered off and joined Steve in the shade of the tree a few feet away.

"Kevin, this is Detective Williams," Henry Reynolds introduced the two.

Kevin looked down at the ground, refusing to meet Danny's gaze. He nervously sat down across the picnic table from the detective.

"Detective Williams, how are you doing?" Martha Reynolds sweetly inquired. "Are you sure you should be out of the hospital?"

Danny smiled and glanced at his waiting entourage, "I'm fine, Mrs. Reynolds, thank you. I may not be 100 percent yet, but I am 100 percent sure that I do not need to be in the hospital anymore."

"We're glad you're feeling better," Henry Reynolds sat to Kevin's left while Martha sat to his right and they all looked across the table at Danny. "Aren't we, Kevin?"

Kevin hesitantly looked up and nodded. His voice was so quiet Danny almost didn't hear him over the morning breeze, "Yes."

"Kevin," Danny tried to catch the teen's eye while he had the chance, "do you have any idea why I wanted to meet with you today?"

"N...n...nooo, sir," Kevin stammered, eyes flicking up to Danny's face and down again.

"I have a daughter not much younger than you," Danny began, "so I know how easily kids your age can be swayed by other kids and even some adults. From what we've found out in the course of our investigation, John Fagin was quite adept at manipulating teens like you to do what he wanted. I'm not saying that excuses what you and the others did, but I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe what your parents tell me about you being a good kid."

Kevin's eyes flew to Danny's face and were full of hope despite the situation he was in.

"The lab has confirmed that neither you nor Terrance Walters fired a single shot, and the fact that you're both cooperating with the district attorney's office will help when it comes time for the judge to decide your punishment. I don't expect either one of you will get off scot-free, but I wanted to let you know that I have spoken to the DA on your behalf."

"Why would you do that?" Kevin wondered. "We could have killed you and... and I was going to shoot you there... you know, before you shot me," Kevin gulped and looked guiltily at his parents. "Why would you want to help me? Fagin said no one would help us except him, and that he would take care of us no matter what anyone else said and..."

"And did he?" Danny asked quietly. "Did he really take care of you and look after you?"

Kevin shook his head, wiping away a lone tear that trickled down his cheek.

"You're right, he didn't," Danny confirmed. "He said he'd have your back, but he sent you and other boys to do his dirty work. Do you know what happened when my team showed up to arrest him?"

Kevin shook his head again and buried his face in his hands though Danny could tell he was still listening.

"He ran. He left all the other boys in that warehouse to get arrested, and he ran. He never had any intention of taking the fall or of providing a lawyer for anyone who was caught. He was not a father figure like he tried to claim. Well, not a good one, anyway." Danny reached across the table and tapped the teen's arm to get his attention again, "From what I've seen and heard so far, Kevin, you are a good kid. I don't know what went wrong to get you tangled up with Fagin, but I am hoping you'll put that in the past and turn your life around and become the person your parents know you can be."

Mrs. Reynolds whispered encouragement and affirmation in Kevin's ear in agreement with Danny as she also wiped away a tear escaping down her face. Mr. Reynolds squeezed his son's shoulder in encouragement.

Danny glanced over at his partner and then past him to the rest of the team; his ohana. "Kevin, real family will always have your back even in the tough times. I'm glad you have a family who will do that for you. I really hope your friend, Terrance, can find the same thing."

"Actually," Henry smiled at his wife and again gave Kevin's shoulders a squeeze, "we're talking to our lawyer and CPS about officially adopting Terrance."

Danny blinked in surprise at the revelation. Kevin also looked his his parents in amazement, "You are?"

"We are!" Martha affirmed. "We know that you and Terrance are close, and when we found out about his situation, we thought that maybe we could help him, too. If that's okay with you. We're just starting the process though; there are a lot of hurdles to jump to make this happen."

Kevin nodded, pleased with the possibility of his best friend becoming his brother.

"That's good. I hope that works out for you. Kevin, I hope that's an opportunity you and Terrance both make the most of," Danny smiled and nodded towards his approaching partner who had noticed his slumping posture, indicating growing weariness, "It's good to have friends that are like brothers who you trust to have your back."

"Thank you, Detective," Henry stood and shook Danny's hand as he, too, stood up. Martha followed suit.

Danny nodded at them both, "You're welcome. Good luck with things."

"Detective Williams?" Kevin also stood and finally looked Danny in the eye without wavering. "I'm sorry for what happened to you, and I'm sorry that I took part in it... Thank you for your kind words. I promise that I will try to live up to them, and I will listen to my parents from now on... I swear I will make something of myself."

Danny grinned, "Good. You remember that and make good on your promise."

Kevin nodded and smiled at his parents as Officer Robertson approached, "Sorry, Danny, time's up, and I have to get him back inside. Besides, I think Commander McGarrett is starting to worry about you."

"Thanks for your help, Gup Gup," Danny winked at the HPD officer's blush at the inside joke. "We're done here, anyway. I'll thank Duke and the DA for your time in this."

The Reynolds watched Danny limp away, leaning heavily on his cane as he moved off towards his waiting partner. Steve fell into step beside him and as Danny faltered, he reached over to put his arm around his friend and support him as they walked slowly back to join the rest of their ohana.

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Again, thank you to Fifilla and Wenwalke for their assistance in this story. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review - I appreciate them all very much. Have a great weekend.


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